Silk Spectre II
Silk Spectre II, or Laurie Juspeczyk, is a hero from the graphic novel ''Watchmen''. She is also referred to as Silk Specter in early issues of ''WatchmeX'', initially as a typographical error, but this was later explained in-universe. Watchmen The illegitimate daughter of Silk Spectre I and The Comedian, Laurie was pushed into costumed crime-fighting by her mother, who she succeeds as Silk Spectre. She fights using martial arts. She was romantically involved with Dr. Manhattan from before the onset of the Keene Act to the events of Watchmen. She is teleported to Mars to convince Manhattan to help put a stop to the schemes of Ozymandias. She also becomes involved with Daniel Dreiberg (the second Nite Owl) during this period, ultimately taking on a new secret identity and joining with him as part of a new crime-fighting team. WatchmeX In Volume 1 of WatchmeX, Nite Owl journeys to the Temple of Nite, leaving the Silk Specter to work alone. She stumbles across the Watchmech program as it is being organized by the newly elected President Veidt. Her efforts to stop the project are halted by the advances of a resurrected Comedian, who persistently attempts to rape or murder her due to Veidt's brainwashing. Eventually, with Rorschach's help, she restores his memories and puts an end to the conflict. Silk Specter is also a prominent protagonist during The Clone Saga, despite being too unremarkable to have been cloned herself. First Pregnancy Arc During Volume 3, Laurie finds that she is pregnant. While Nite Owl II is assumed to be the father, other possibilities raised include Dr. Manhattan and even The Comedian. When Dan hires Rorschach to investigate the matter, they are shocked to discover that the child is not human. Suspecting that it is the result of bestiality, Rorschach attempts to kill the baby by poisoning Laurie, and seems to succeed, but the child soon regenerates itself. The Queen Squid reveals itself to be the father, and announces that when its spawn is born it will destroy the earth. The Silk Specter sacrifices herself to save the planet, which leads to the Queen Squid's death. Return Early in Volume 4, Laurie reappears in the deserts of Afghanistan to rescue Rorschach from the brink of death. She reveals that when Dr. Manhattan had teleported her back from Mars in Watchmen, she was actually intercepted by the Queen Squid. The Queen Squid replaced Silk Spectre II with an exact duplicate, Silk Specter II, who was already pregnant with the alien's child. The original Laurie had been trapped in a pocket dimension the entire time, but was released back to Earth once the Squid was destroyed. During the issue of her return the Silk Spectre and Rorschach become romantically involved. This is never referenced again - outside of a minor allusion during the second pregnancy arc - and is largely considered non-canon. Another curiosity is that Laurie has memories of everything that happened to her duplicate during the end of Watchmen and most of WatchmeX. Dr. Manhattan briefly explains this in one issue as being caused by a "reality tremor".